State Proposals To Bolster Math and Science Teaching

Following is a summary of the variety of measures states have taken,
or are considering, to improve mathematics and science education. Hope
Aldrich, Peggy Caldwell, Charlie Euchner, Susan G. Foster, Tom Mirga,
Sheppard Ranbom, Thomas Toch, Susan Walton, and Eileen White
contributed to this report. It was coordinated by Alex Heard.

In some states not mentioned in the survey, there is no shortage of
mathematics or science teachers at this time, officials said. In
others, either more pressing budgetary problems made it impractical to
propose any new education programs that would require additional
appropriations, or plans are still in the discussion stage, their
officials reported. (For related computer-literacy initiatives, see
Education Week, Feb. 16, 1983.)

NORTHWEST

In Oregon, legislators are considering a bill that would begin a
study of the feasibility of establishing an Oregon High School for
Science and Mathematics. The bill is now in the House ways and means
committee.

Washington legislators are studying a bill that would waive tuition for
undergraduates in the state's colleges and universities who have
declared mathematics or science education as their major.

Students who receive such a waiver would not have to pay the tuition
back if they then teach mathematics or science in the state. The entire
sum would be "forgiven" over a 10-year period.

The bill has passed in the Senate, and last week was still in the
ways and means committee of the House.

The state education department's proposed budget also contains a
request for $230,000 for inservice training for math and science
teachers during the next biennium. The budget has not yet been
adopted.

According to Judy L. Hartman, an administrative assistant in the
department, two studies--one by the department and one by two
professors at the University of Washington in Seattle--have shown that
there is a need for qualified math and science teachers in the
state.

In Wyoming, where teacher salaries are high compared with those in
neighboring states, and where there are only about 300 math and 300
science teachers, there is no shortage in these areas, according to
William M. Futrell, who serves as science, math,
environmental-education, and computer-science coordinator for the state
department of education.

Nonetheless, in March the legislature passed the Wyoming Secondary
Education Improvement Act, which will make $250 scholarships available
for math, science, computer-science and foreign-language teachers who
wish to go to the University of Wyoming during the summer to upgrade
their skills. The grant is to be matched by local districts, Mr.
Futrell says.

SOUTHWEST

In April, the Arizona legislature appropriated $400,000 for the
Arizona Board of Regents to support several mathematics- and
science-improvement projects, including:

$50,000 for scholarships to help send gifted high-school students to
special summer programs in math and science offered at the state
universities. The scholarships will be awarded on the basis of merit
and need, said Odus V. Elliott, associate director for academic
programs for the Arizona Board of Regents.

$100,000 for a loan program for people who are either seeking their
initial teaching credential in math or science or who have other
teaching credentials and want to retrain in math and science.

The program has a provision allowing "loan-forgiveness" in exchange
for teaching, but the details of this arrangement have yet to be worked
out, Mr. Elliott said.

$250,000 to support special institutes and other programs designed
to "upgrade and revitalize" the skills of current math and science
teachers in Arizona classrooms.

This money will be allocated to Arizona universities on a
competitive basis, Mr. Elliott said. The plan will have to be approved
by the state board of regents and a joint legislative budget committee,
he added.

California is in need of another 1,500 qualified math teachers and
another 1,000 science teachers, according to the state education
department's mathematics consultant.

Most of these positions are now being filled by unqualified
teachers, officials say. Some are vacant--especially positions in
math--and the state is dropping some classes or offering them on
alternate years to deal with the shortage.

Two major education packages are now in the legislature. Both
include reforms and would be funded by a tax increase.

Both bills include proposals for a "loan-forgiveness" program for
students studying to become math and science teachers, for
teacher-retraining programs that would include math and science
teachers (as well as teachers in other fields); and scholarship
proposals for students training to become teachers.

Both packages propose funding of up to $20 million for summer
programs in math and science for schoolchildren. And both establish
graduation requirements, including two years of math and science;
requirements have been controlled at the district level since 1968 in
California.

In Colorado, which currently needs about 180 mathematics teachers,
according to state officials, a task force appointed by the state
department of education to examine the shortage and other problems will
report on its recommendations in July.

In Oklahoma, a proposal to create a secondary school of math and
science patterned after North Carolina's has passed in the House and is
being discussed in the Senate.

Texas is experiencing teacher shortages in both mathematics and
science, officials report. Last week, the Senate passed a bill that
would pay $450-a-semester stipends for tuition costs to retrain
teachers who shift over to mathematics or science from other
fields.

After completing their training, the newly certified teachers would
have to teach at least four semesters out of the next three years in
the state or refund the stipend. The bill is now in the House.

Another bill, which has already passed in the House, would allow
schools to hire math and science teachers from industry if there are no
certified applicants for the openings. State certification requirements
would be waived as long as the individuals had strong backgrounds in
their fields, said a legislative aide who helped draft the bill.

Additional bills proposing scholarships and other initiatives are
also being considered.

MIDWEST

The Iowa legislature last week was putting the finishing touches on
a bill with several provisions to improve math and science teaching,
including:

A program through which the state will repay up to $1,000 per year
(for up to six years) of the college loans of math and science teachers
who teach in Iowa schools after graduation.

Teachers who graduate after Jan. 1, 1983, in the areas of advanced
algebra, chemistry, and physics, will be eligible, according to Max
Miller, administrative assistant for Gov. Terry Branstad.

Funding for loans of up to $1,000 a year to Iowa teachers with
certification in areas other than math or science who enroll in school
on at least a half-time basis to be recertified in these areas.

A grant of $25 in state school aid to districts for every student
enrolled in advanced math and science classes. (There will also be a
one-time grant of $50 for students enrolled in first-year
foreign-language courses.) The $25-per-pupil grants will go to
districts' general funds and will be tied to the purchase of new
equipment.

A provision that awards financial bonuses (in the form of an
increased factor in the state's school-aid formula) to school districts
that share programs in "critical" math and science areas.

Most of these provisions will not take effect until 1985, Mr. Miller
said. By then, the total cost of the program could be $3.5 million per
year.

The possibility of a shortage of mathematics and science teachers
and the need for general improvement in the area were pointed to in a
study completed last October by the Iowa Academy of Science at the
behest of Governor Branstad.

Missouri does not require advanced math and science courses for
graduation, but discussions to raise the requirements are underway,
said R.V. Wilson, director of teacher certification for the state
department of education.

If new graduation requirements are approved and endorsed, as Mr.
Wilson believes they will be, the state will be short some 1,750
mathematics teachers and up to 1,800 science teachers, he
estimates.

Though the legislature has not developed any specific programs to
combat teacher shortages in math and science, some efforts are
currently being made by colleges of education despite the fact that
they currently face "serious financial problems," according to Mr.
Wilson.

Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield and Northeast
Missouri State University in Kirksville have established summer
mathematics institutes to provide 11 credit hours of training through
the summer to retrain up to 30 previously "riffed" elementary-school
teachers to teach mathematics in junior high school. The colleges
charge a reduced rate of $450 for the summer program. Teachers attend
at no charge, because local districts pay $350 and the state department
of education pays $100 per teacher.

In addition, the University of Missouri in Columbia and Maryville
College in St. Louis sent applications out last week for two separate
programs that will provide inservice training for a limited number of
mathematics and science teachers.

In Nebraska, the state legislature is considering a bill that would
provide 30 low-interest loans of up to $2,000 each for students who
major in science and math education, according to Donald D. Woodburn,
state science consultant for the department of education.

Mr. Woodburn said that the bill will "probably pass" in the
legislature.

The loans are not forgivable. Students would have three years to pay
back each year of the loan, provided they teach in Nebraska.

In addition, Mr. Woodburn said, the University of Nebraska is
considering establishing a math and science center that would host
one-week inservice-training institutes for teachers in the state.

The North Dakota department of public instruction is involved in a
joint project with North Dakota State University to retrain
teachers--mostly those with certificates in social sciences--to teach
math and science.

The program will begin this summer, involving about 25 teachers at
first.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joseph Crawford points
out that the state's colleges and universities will produce a total of
about 15 certified math and science teachers this year, so the 25
retrained teachers will have a significant impact.

In this year's session of the South Dakota legislature, a bill failed
that would have provided free tuition to college students who intended
to prepare for teaching careers in mathematics and science in the
state.

GREAT LAKES

In Illinois, Gov. James R. Thompson, who is a Republican, has
proposed providing money for summer training programs for math and
science teachers, as have Senate Democrats on the education committee
in a more expensive bill.

The Senate bill would provide stipends for teachers to attend both
summer schools and workshops during the school year.

The state board of education has endorsed the concept but is not
pressing for either one of the bills, said Robert Leininger,
legislative specialist for the board.

Gov. Robert D. Orr of Indiana has signed a bill to establish a "loan
replacement assistance fund" to help repay the college loans of
students who stay in the state to become teachers in math, science, or
other "shortage areas," according to Paul W. Krohne, associate
superintendent in the state education department

The Indiana State Student Assistance Commission will administer the
program, which takes effect July 1. The program has been funded at
$50,000 per year for the next two years.

The Governor has also signed a bill to set up a "teacher shortage
financial assistance fund" for loans to teachers certified in
"non-shortage" areas who wish to go back to school for recertification,
Mr. Krohne said. There will be a "loan-forgiveness" provision in the
program, he said. A teacher would have to repay the loan if, for
example, he does not teach in the public schools three of the first
five years after he graduates with new certification.

This program will cost $150,000 per year.

Last month, the Indiana state board of education increased the
high-school graduation requirements in the state, and added one year
each of math and science for all students.

In February, Gov. Rudy Perpich of Minnesota requested $6.6 million over
the coming biennium to strengthen education in math, science, and
technology. The request included grants for teacher training, seminars,
and the development of model high-school courses.

Two different versions of the proposal have since passed in both the
House and Senate. The legislative bodies must reconcile their versions
of the bill before the legislature adjourns on May 23, according to
John C. Ostrem, director of legislative relations for the state
department of education.

The House bill would provide $8.38 million for math and science, and
the Senate bill would provide $5.85 million, Mr. Ostrem said.

The Senate was more conservative in its appropriations than the
House because it wanted to keep its allocations close to the Governor's
requests, he said.

The Senate eliminated the teacher-training component, which would
have provided $1 million for training of teachers to use computers in
the classroom and $250,000 for higher-education institutions to
establish programs to upgrade the skills of mathematics and science
teachers, because it was aware that funds may be coming from the
federal government for inservice programs, according to Mr. Ostrem.

The House bill still includes provisions for inservice training,
including the $1 million for computer instruction and $180,000 for
state university departments of education to boost inservice
programs.

In addition, the University of Minnesota has established an
independent, nonprofit group--The Minnesota Alliance for Science--to
coordinate math- and science-improvement efforts by business and
industry, school districts, colleges of education, and public agencies.
The alliance was established with a $166,000 grant from the Bush
Foundation.

The alliance will, among other things, develop a plan for
recruiting, training, and keeping more math and science teachers.

A new initiative in Wisconsin that could cost the state as much as $3.5
million per year is being devised by state Senator Paul Offner and will
be introduced to the legislature in the next few weeks.

The plan has the full endorsement of State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Herbert J. Grover. It includes:

Two hundred grants of $3,682 each for 1984-85 to allow teachers not
certified in math or science (including elementary- school teachers) to
obtain certification in these subjects.

Four hundred grants of $2,975 each to allow practicing secondary
science and math teachers to improve their skills.

Fifty grants of $2,975 each for vocational-education teachers to
gain a greater understanding of math and science, and of ways to
integrate these subjects into vocational-education programs.

Scholarships of $2,500 for 100 prospective teachers--50 in science
and 50 in math--who will make a commitment to teach in these fields.
The scholarships would extend for up to two years.

Support of exemplary math and science programs designed by school
districts, with grants averaging $50,000 per year. The state department
of public instruction would support up to six grants per year, and
would allow districts to apply for renewal of funding.

Grants for 24 teachers to take two-year leaves to serve as "master"
math and science teachers. They would be paid $30,000 for salary and
expenses. Their responsibilities would include working with colleges to
improve inservice and preservice training of science and math
teachers.

Two hundred grants of up to $1,000 each to bring business and
industrial practitioners of science, math, or technology into the
schools to work with teachers and students.

Appointment of a Science and Mathematics Education Board to oversee
the introduction and operation of the program. The board would be drawn
from a wide range of public elementary, secondary, and higher-education
groups as well as from business and the public at large.

If the legislature acts in this biennium, Mr. Grover says the
schools can operate such a program by 1987.

Legislators think that improvement of mathematics and science
education is an important issue, but like many states Wisconsin has a
cash flow problem and any determination of how far the bill will go is
at this point "purely conjecture," according to Amza C. Vail,
legislative liaison for the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction.

"Wisconsin is broke and anything will be difficult to get through
the legislature," according to Robert Van Hoesen, a spokesman for
Senator Offner.

MIDATLANTIC

The New Jersey legislature is considering two bills dealing with the
need for more math and science teachers.

One, now in the Senate education committee, would require the state
to give loans to any college student majoring in math or science at
"approved" state colleges or universities.

The bill would also set up a loan-forgiveness program for college
students who agree to teach in New Jersey public schools for five
years.

Finally, the bill would create a loan and loan-forgiveness program
for practicing teachers in other fields who wish to become math and
science teachers.

The bill leaves open the amount of funding that would go to these
programs.

A bill now in the Assembly higher education committee would allow
the state's colleges to offer their own loans to students who plan to
teach math and science in the state.

A 15-member advisory council set up last fall by Commissioner of
Education Saul Cooperman and Commissioner of Higher Education T. Edward
Hollander to explore the condition of math and science education in the
state released its interim report early this month.

It found that shortages of math and science teachers are
concentrated in the "least affluent" school systems in the state--those
in rural areas and inner cities--and that increasing numbers of math
and science teachers are leaving the profession, while the number of
uncertified math and science instructors is increasing.

Among the measures called for in the committee's recommendations are
summer institutes for scientists and mathematicians who want to teach,
a statewide job bank, and inservice curriculum workshops for teachers
conducted by experts from industry.

The New York Board of Regents has proposed four bills, costing a total
of $1.8 million, that would:

Establish an inservice program that would retrain teachers from
other disciplines to teach math and science.

Provide scholarships for prospective math and science teachers.

Create "regents' consultantships" for teachers to allow them leave
to travel around the state, advising other teachers.

An Assembly bill is being drafted now that would retrain teachers
from other fields; provide scholarships to potential math and science
teachers; and set up a loan-forgiveness program for students who say
they will teach in the state upon graduation.

Robert Lowry, an assistant for the Assembly's higher-education
committee, said action on the proposals will be "difficult" in this
session because of the state's financial situation.

In Pennsylvania, more and more school systems are requesting
certification waivers from the state department of education because
they do not have enough teachers certified in math or science to meet
the demand, said Helen E. Caffrey, executive director of the Senate
education committee.

"There is a heck of a lot in the hopper for discussion [on the topic
of improving math and science education], " she noted, including a
proposal that the state's student-aid agency offer forgivable loans to
college students who agree to teach in the state's public schools. A
bill in the Senate encourages the agency to make such a move.

Gov. Richard L. Thornburgh's fiscal 1984 budget provides for
$800,000 to set up a model program to retrain certified teachers from
other fields to teach math and science, and to fund pilot projects that
bring public schools into cooperative relationships with private
industry. As yet, there has been no budget bill in the legislature.

Maryland is short about 450 mathematics teachers and lacks certain
types of science teachers, according to Arvin Blome, an associate
superintendent. However, three bills that proposed forgivable-loan
programs to students studying to become mathematics or science teachers
were quashed in the legislature, as were bills providing for
teacher-retraining programs.

NEW ENGLAND

The Connecticut legislature is considering two bills that would set
up forgivable-loan programs, one of which would also authorize $100,000
for the retraining of teachers already certified in other subjects.

According to Scott Brohinsky, legislative assistant to the state
commissioner of education, the likelihood that the Senate
appropriations committee will approve the measure is slim because of
its cost.

The second measure carries no appropriation level. It authorizes the
use of bond funds--which were approved last year in anticipation of
federal cutbacks in student aid--for the loan-forgiveness program for
students. The loan would be reduced by 25 percent for every year spent
teaching math, science, or industrial arts in the state.

Mr. Brohinsky said the state board of higher education would have
about $300,000 to $400,000 to spend on the program if the legislature
approves the use of the bonds.

This bill has passed in both the education and finance committees of
the House and Senate and will soon be considered by the full chambers.
The program would begin in the 1983-84 school year.

A bill is being drafted in the Maine legislature that would provide
incentive grants for the preparation of math and science teachers, and
for the retraining of teachers who teach math and science but are not
fully qualified.

The bill would provide $120,000 to be split between the two
programs. Under the incentive grants for college students, teacher
candidates would be eligible for up to $5,000 per year. A percentage of
that would be forgiven for each year they teach in the state.

The bill is sponsored by Gov. Joseph E. Brennan.

In a survey conducted last month by the state education department,
55 percent of districts reported difficulty in hiring and retaining
science and math teachers, according to Douglas A. Stafford, a science
consultant in the department.

Despite the fact that it now has a surplus of mathematics and science
teachers resulting from the layoffs that followed Proposition 2, the
Massachusetts legislature is considering a measure that would provide
$250,000 for the retraining of teachers, particularly those with math
and science backgrounds.

The measure has passed in the joint education committee and the ways
and means committee of the House.

The New Hampshire legislature is considering a bill that would allow
state colleges and universities to offer tuition-waiver contracts to
teacher candidates in math, science, and industrial arts.

Under the agreement, the students would receive a tuition-free
education if they agree to teach in New Hampshire schools and would
have to repay their tuition if they graduate and fail to teach.

No appropriation level is set for the program in the bill, but
Donald F. Day, a consultant for administrative services in the state
department of education, said colleges and universities would lose
about $300,000 a year in tuition payments if the bill passes.

Another bill--which has a better chance of passage, according to Mr.
Day--would establish a forgivable-loan program for teacher candidates
in math or science. The bill would cost $100,000 during the 1984-86
biennium, Mr. Day said. A teacher's debt would be reduced $1,000 for
every year spent teaching a "shortage" subject.

Mr. Day noted that last year Plymouth State College, the largest
producer of teachers in the state, graduated only one math major and
one science major. The state department of education has conducted a
statewide survey of its districts to see if they are experiencing a
teacher shortage but has not completed the tabulations. The department
anticipates finding a shortage in math, science (except biology), and
industrial arts, Mr. Day said.

The state is also planning to raise its minimum graduation standards
for students to require that they take at least two years of math and
science, he added. They now are required to take only one year of
each.

In Vermont, Gov. Richard A. Snelling recently signed a loan-forgiveness
bill that also covers students planning to teach computer science.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation will administer the
program. The percentage of a loan that will be waived annually for a
graduate teaching in the state will be determined by the number of
eligible students participating in a given year but will not exceed 25
percent in one year.

Patricia Pallas, certification officer for the state department of
education, said the department surveyed 13 teacher-preparation programs
and 60 local superintendents to determine the extent of the
teacher-shortage problem. Ms. Pallas said 37 of the 60 superintendents
reported having difficulty finding qualified math teachers and 25 had
difficulty finding science teachers. This year, the 13
teacher-education colleges in the state expect to graduate only 10
teacher candidates in math and four in science, she said.

Ms. Pallas said the department has just launched a teacher-placement
service to help fill math and science vacancies in school districts
throughout the state. The department has placed advertisements in The
New York Times and the The Boston Globe and so far has received
responses from 12 math and 12 science teachers who said they would be
willing to relocate.

SOUTH

Alabama has not surveyed districts to find out whether they have
shortages of science and math teachers, but enrollment trends in
education schools suggest that the state will have what one state
official described as "a horrible problem."

The state has recently tightened teacher certification standards by
requiring more testing of candidates, which officials believe will
further reduce the pool of qualified science and math teachers.
Currently, few math and science students are entering programs.

The legislature, however, will not be considering any new science-
and math-education initiatives, although it will have to approve new
funding for the teacher-scholarship program enacted last year. Funded
at $50,000, the program provides complete scholarships for students who
agree to teach math or science after graduation. Education officials
said they will work to have the act amended to increase funding.

In April, Arkansas legislators approved a small-scale program that will
allocate existing state scholarship money to provide loans of up to 50
percent of the cost of tuition, room, board, and books to students
studying to be math and science teachers. The state will forgive
one-fifth of the loan for every year a student teaches in the
state.

This year, the state does not have the funds to allocate more than
$15,000 in the forgivable-loan program.

"We have no idea how many students will apply, and we are
anticipating getting more money for the program through federal support
and new allocations from the legislature next year," according to John
M. Cooper, associate director for finance with the Arkansas Department
of Higher Education.

A study conducted by Truett Goatcher, coordinator of school
statistics and physical services for the state education department,
showed that last September the state had 31 physics teachers, and no
new teachers coming out of the education schools or re-entering the
profession.

In chemistry, there were 82 teachers, only two new teachers from the
state's education schools, and one teacher re-entering the
profession.

Florida is in the midst of a science- and mathematics-teacher shortage
that is expected to grow worse before it improves. For the 1983-84
school year, the state expects to need an additional 682 mathematics
teachers and 421 science teachers, according to a recent survey by the
state education department.

Those figures may be higher if the legislature approves a measure
that would require stiffer high-school graduation requirements,
including more math and science.

Currently, specific programs to improve science and mathematics
education are being considered by the legislature as part of a larger
package of education-improvement measures. Both chambers have
consolidated their education-reform bills, which are likely to end up
in a conference committee soon.

Only when the conference committee completes its work will it become
clear which of the science and mathematics initiatives will survive.
But legislative aides say there are likely to be major proposals. Among
those with a good chance of passage are forgivable-loan programs for
future teachers and grants to school districts for modifications to
their curricula and teaching methods, and the purchase of new
equipment.

Last spring, the Kentucky legislature--which goes into session once
every two years--passed a bill, costing $410,000 this year, that set up
a loan program for undergraduates, uncertified graduates, and teachers
who want to change disciplines to become mathematics and science
teachers.

Summer institutes for certified teachers who wish to earn
mathematics or science credentials were established under the same
legislation. Under the program, teachers are eligible for an $833
tuition loan. Each such loan would be forgiven by the state in return
for a commitment to teach in Kentucky schools for one semester,
according to Frank Howard, science consultant for the state department
of education.

In Louisiana, which was short some 800 math teachers last year, the
state superintendent of public instruction has appointed a
teacher-recruitment commission which is now at work developing
recommendations for a report due this summer.

In the meantime, the state board of education has allowed temporary
emergency measures to let districts bring in noncertified people to
teach in shortage areas.

Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. of North Carolina has proposed a summer program
in which math and science teachers would provide instruction to
education students and current teachers from other fields who want to
become math and science teachers.

The Governor requested $400,000 for the program in his budget, and
wants the state education department to provide an additional
$460,000.

The budget probably will not be adopted until late June.

Governor Hunt is also asking for $1.1 million for a six-week program
of summer employment for high-school mathematics and science teachers,
and $100,000 for eight two-year projects for improving science and math
programs.

South Carolina has no shortage of mathematics or science teachers yet,
but as part of a general effort to improve the quality of the state's
teachers the state superintendent has proposed summer institutes for
the retraining of teachers certified in other areas and state funding
for loan programs to encourage education students to prepare for
careers in science and math teaching.

Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, as part of his 10-point education
program--which has been put on hold by the state legislature--proposed
requiring students to take two years of math and science instead of the
one year of each now required.

The Governor made an additional funding request to pay for the
additional teachers that would be needed under his proposal. He wanted
a four-year budget commitment estimated to cost $7 million by the
fourth year, according to a spokesman for the state education
department.

A study conducted by the department showed that, from 1977 to 1981,
684 math teachers were certified to teach in the state, but that in
1981-82 only 378 of them were doing so, the spokesman said.

The West Virginia education department is planning two programs to ease
a shortage of math and science teachers that has affected nearly half
of the state's 55 districts, according to Robert Gabrys, director of
education personnel development.

One program, for which the department is seeking foundation support
and cooperation from colleges, would encourage retired scientists and
mathematicians to work part-time in the schools. The new teachers would
not need any teaching experience or training; training would be
provided on the job and after hours by college administrators.

The other program would function like a "teacher corps," Mr. Gabrys
said, by providing a team of teachers employed by the state to teach in
"high-need" counties, such as those with shortages of math, science, or
special-education teachers.

The state, just before the current school year, increased the number
of years of required mathematics from one to two. The state board of
education is considering whether to increase the science requirement
from one to two years. The two actions are expected to exacerbate the
teacher shortage, Mr. Gabrys said.

Science- and math-improvement bills were under consideration but did
not pass during this year's legislative session. The proposals dealt
with forgivable loans and scholarships for prospective teachers.

An "interim" committee of legislators, appointed by the leadership,
is studying the issue and will make recommendations said Jean Lawson, a
staff member of the committee. In addition to the scholarship and loan
programs, the committee is interested in establishing a state
math-science high school similar to North Carolina's.

High School of Science and Mathematics.

Direct monetary awards to school districts for increased numbers of
students enrolled in mathematics and science classes, and proposals to
increase the amount of mathematics and science required in high
schools.

Many of the proposals also involve establishing computer-literacy
programs for both students and teachers. (Those initiatives were
detailed in Education Week, Feb. 16, 1983.)

The fate of a number of the proposals is still uncertain. Officials
in several states were not optimistic that the legislation would
survive, given financial conditions in their states; some of the
proposals have already failed to pass.

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